= fhe Revival 


in the 


Indian Church 


_ BISHOP FRANK W. WARNE 


tHe REVIVAL IN THE 
INDIAN CHURCH 


BY 


BISHOP FRANK W. WARNE 


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KEY TO THE REVIVAL 


Woe to them that are at ease in Zion. Amos 6. 1. 
They ... first gave their own selves to the Lord. II Cor. 8. 5. 


Ask of me, and I will give thee the nations for thine inheritance and the 
uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession. Psalms 2. 8. 


I will call that my people, which was not my people... and it shall be, 
that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people, there 


shall they be called sons of the living God. Rom. 9. 25, 26. 
Their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more. Heb. 10, 17. 
I will putimy law ... jin their heart. Jer. 31. 33. 
The zeal of Jehovah Lord of hosts shall perform this. Isa. 9. 7. 
They shall all be taught of God. John 6. 45. 
All thy children shall be taught of Jehovah. Isa. 54. 13. 


O Jehovah, I have heard the report of thee. .. . 
O Jehovah, revive thy work.... 
Make it known. Hab. 38. 2. 


O. Zion, let not thy hands be slack, Jehovah thy God is in the midst of 
thee. Zeph. 3. 16, 17. 


Will you make this your 
DAIDYSERAY ER 


until the answer comes ? 


O LORD), send a Revival, and begin in 


me, for Jesus’ sake. Amen. 


Promises to plead. Isa. 57.15; Psa. 138. 7 
Results to follow. Psa. 51. 10-15; Hos. 14. 4-8 


The Revival in the Indian Church 


Introductory Statement 


After Pentecost, for the edification of the Church in the coming ages, an 
account of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit and the mighty works which 
followed was written by one who was an eyewitness. When the right time 
comes, a Luke will make a permanent record of the “Outpouring of the Holy 
Spirit in India” during 1905-1906. Having been on the “watch tower,” noting 
the movement of God in India during these years, I feel that I should not at 
this time withhold from the Church a brief account of what my eyes have seen, 
my ears heard and my heart has felt of God’s mighty workings in this land. 
It is with very special joy and gratitude that I write of a revival during the 
Jubilee year. Our Indian Christians call it the “Jubilee Revival.” 

I have several purposes in writing. One is that all who support our mission 
in India may be greatly encouraged by hearing of these gracious outpourings 
of the Holy Spirit. Another purpose is that all may be led to pray with faith 
that the revival may continue and prosper gloriously and thus greatly hasten 
the time when India shall be, not a non-Christian, but a Christian nation. Yet 
another motive is that the outpourings of God’s Spirit may inspire many so 
to pray that a like glorious revival may come to all those whose gifts have 
made the establishment of the Indian Church possible. It is the hope and prayer 
of our Indian Christians that this revival may be world-wide. It really began in 
Wales and was prayed into India. “Oh God, send this revival into all lands,” 
is the prayer now ascending from the infant Indian Church. 

If any of the outward manifestations of this revival appear to be different 
from those in other parts of the earth, it should be remembered that the Church 
in India is to the hundreds of millions of this land what the early Christian 
Church was to the non-Christian world of the age to which it belonged. We live 
in the midst of systems of religious thought which are centuries older than the 
New Testament and which have held in their power a large portion of the 
human race for “lo these many” centuries. We expect that before India’s proud 
millions submit to the lowly Nazarene there will be in India many more 
miraculous manifestations of spiritual power than those which I shall record. 

I have used care in choosing my title, “The Revival in the Indian Church.” 
The word Church does not refer to our mission only. I joyfully record the 
fact that the revival is spreading throughout all denominations, and the whole 
Church in India is being wonderfully awakened. The special features of this 
revival in the Indian Church show the evolution of a divine plan in the saving 
of Hindustan. Much has been said about “mass movements.” The question has 
often been asked, “Are the Indian converts really converted?” Shortly after 


6 The Revival in the Indian Church 


my arrival in this country I heard an old missionary say, “The first necessity 
for a sculptor’s work is that the marble be taken out of the quarry.” He added, 
“We must first get the people out of the quarry of Hinduism, and they are 
ours that we may perfect them in the Christian life.” We should not under- . 
estimate the spiritual influences at work in the lives of these people before they 
break with hoary heathenism and come to Christ. But no missionary has 
considered that sufficient. Let me illustrate. An American Baptist missionary 

in India recently wrote as follows: 


In 1878 a great revival swept over Ongole and from June 16 to the end of 
December, 9,606 were baptized. This revival was genuine and lasting. The revival 
of 1878 took place among the heathen; this present one is among Christians. That 
resulted in a mass movement of the heathen toward Christianity, and a baptism of 
water; this is resulting in the breaking down of self in the individual, and a baptism 
of fire for the individual. That was a drawing toward God; this is an examination 
of self before God. 


What this brother has written concerning the two revivals in the Baptist 
mission is true of practically all the missions in India, but it applies to ours 
on a very large scale. We have nearly 200,000 Christians in our Jubilee year. 
These are now being awakened and equipped in such manner as the following 
pages will show. 

Imagine our joy and hope as we see the Indian Church being spiritually 
equipped for the work of the second half century, and it is our desire that the 
Home Church, by whose gifts alone our Indian Church exists, should share it. 
Fifty years ago, when our mission began in India, we had no Christians, no 
preachers, no literature, no presses, no property, no Woman’s Foreign Missionary 
Society. There was intense opposition from the heathen and comparatively 
little intelligent interest at home. But even from such a beginning much has 
been accomplished during the first half century; and we begin our second 
half century with about 200,000 Christians, 5,000 workers and thousands more 
in training in our schools, with much good literature and six mission presses, 
with a good property plant in many centers, with the wonderful Woman’s 
Foreign Missionary Society raised up to meet Indian conditions, with a mar- 
velous growth of intelligent interest on mission problems in the home church, 
with the opposition of the heathen breaking down, and with one hundred 
thousand more inquirers than we can receive and train. Whai seer can foretell 
the marvelous works that will be reported at our Indian Centenary Celebration? 

Our plan in writing is to give in detail the manner in which the revival came 
in a few places. These have been carefully selected as typical of the revival 
now spreading throughout India. Then there will also be given some of the 
distinctive characteristics and fruits of the Indian revival as we see them. 


The Beginning and Growth of the Revival 


The beginning of the general awakening in India is not easy to trace 
definitely. Since the beginning of this century, there has been in many places 
a spirit of special and earnest prayer for a world-wide awakening, and we 
believe that the Indian revival is part of the answer to this prayer. Through 
Welsh missionaries working in the Khasia hills, the general revival in India 
is believed to be very closely connected with the Welsh revival. 

As far, however, as such a matter can be traced, the revival in our own 


The Beginning and Growth of the Revival 7 


mission has a very vital connection with the action of the General Conference 
of 1900, which appointed a commission for a spiritual forward movement in 
the United States. At that time I was very deeply impressed with the impera- 
tive need of a forward spiritual movement in our own mission. To this end, 
while crossing the Pacific Ocean on my way back to India after my election in 
1900, I set apart one Sunday for prayer and fasting and I then received a great 
spiritual uplift, an assurance of God’s continued presence and help, and a vision 
of grace as abundant and inexhaustible as the ocean waves which surround all 
lands. After that, I expected marvelous things to happen in India. 

As an outcome of this experience, I find an article over my signature in 
The Indian Witness of Calcutta, dated September 16, 1900, part of which reads 
as follows: 


I was present at the first meeting of the Commission appointed by the General 
Conference to arrange for a special forward movement in the United States, and I 
was impressed that God was in it and would greatly use the movement. I am deeply 
impressed that we, in India, should inaugurate a similar movement. 


Then I proceeded to suggest a plan by which a commission might be appointed 
to direct such a movement in connection with our mission, and during the 
month of October, 1900, a commission was appointed to inaugurate the movement 
for a general spiritual awakening throughout our mission in India. Prayer 
unions, fasting and prayer, special faithfulness in family worship and definite 
personal work were earnestly urged upon all our people. From that time 
“praying bands” were formed in schools, leagues and districts, and prayer and 
expectation of a revival among our Indian Christians has been constantly 
increasing. Moreover from time to time we have had meetings of great spir- 
itual power. 

I find in my journal the following record made as early as September, 1901: 


I spent a Sunday in Penang and held a service with a Tamil congregation, 
concerning which the missionaries had been greatly discouraged because of the lack 
of spirituality on the part of these people. I preached at 7 A. M., and during the 
service the Holy Spirit fell upon this congregation with convicting power as upon 
the people on the day of Pentecost. As soon as the sermon was over, I had to leave 
to take charge of another service in the Chinese church. But the Tamil congregation 
remained and prayed until after midday, sending out for other members of the congre- 
gation with whom there had been trouble. They waited, prayed, and settled their 
quarrels and then resolved to be a temperate people and to consecrate themselves to a 
consistent and earnest Christian life. 


About two and a half years later, when I was again staying at Penang, I 
naturally asked about the Tamil congregation, and learned to my delight that 
“the people had indeed been transformed from the time of that service. Quar- 
reling, drunkenness and immorality disappeared and from then until now they 
have remained a happy, harmonious, aggressive, evangelistic congregation and 
have grown to such an extent that they are now practically self-supporting.” 

This long continuance of prayer and sudden transformation of lives was 
a forerunner of the revival. As early as October, 1902, I conducted a meeting 
in which the missionaries reported that all the bad and even the worst people 
had become powerfully convicted of sin. I saw strong men trembling and 
falling under the power of such a mighty conviction of sin as I had seldom 
if ever seen. I witnessed at that time some scenes which have since become 
frequent—that is, for hours the people continued to cry loudly for mercy, until 


8 The Revival in the Indian Church 


deliverance came. I recall a meeting during September, 1903, in which I was 
expounding the third chapter of Saint John’s Gospel, and when I had reached 
the 14th verse, “So must the Son of man be lifted up,’ and was quietly explain- 
ing the place of the crucifixion in the plan of salvation, one man fell headlong 
on the floor as suddenly as if struck by power from an unseen world, and in 
great agony began to cry mightily for mercy. Then, as if carried by an electric 
current, the conviction of sin ran through the entire congregation, followed 
by such agonizing cries for mercy from all the people that my voice could not be 
heard. I had never before seen such a manifestation among our Indian Chris- 
tians. Suddenly the whole audience began to shake and tremble under the 
power of a mighty conviction of sin. This went on for hours and then marvel- 
ous blessings came upon the people. All this was but a forerunner of the 
revival. Again, in November of the same year, I had a similar experience at 
another place where two meetings held in one day lasted three hours each and 
several hundred people claimed to receive very definite spiritual blessings. 
There were wonderful manifestations of spiritual power, unmistakable convic- 
tion of sin and earnest repentance, a wave of prayer like the sound of many 
waters, followed by great peace and rejoicing. 

In our Jubilee celebration great emphasis was laid upon having a spiritual 
Jubilee. Tio this end, the Bishops of Southern Asia sent out a special appeal, 
calling upon the whole Indian Church to pray and work for a great advance 
in spiritual life and scriptural giving. This appeal gave a new impetus to the 
revival, and caused our people to call it the “Jubilee Revival.” 

At a district Summer School in Muttra, August 21, 1905, 500 or 600 students 
were present. I arrived on Friday morning and gave an address on “The 
fullness of the Spirit as necessary to a complete equipment for spiritual 
service.” The meetings on Saturday and Sunday were good, but not remark- 
able. At the close of my address on Monday morning, a young woman arose 
and asked, “Bishop, may I speak?” I replied, “Certainly.” She began: “On 
Friday morning when the address was given, I realized that I was not equipped 
for spiritual service, but I began to pray day and night, and on Sunday after- 
noon when alone in secret prayer, the fullness of the Holy Spirit came upon 
me.” As she was quietly telling of her wonderful blessing, suddenly a spirit 
of conviction swept like a tidal wave over the whole audience, and they groaned, 
trembled and cried aloud. There was a large vacant place behind the desk 
where I was standing, with two rooms on either side that were used for class 
rooms. I said to the young woman: “Come into this vacant space and ask 
the women and girls to join you in seeking the fullness of the Spirit for 
service.” Instantly, impelled by the power of the Spirit, about 150 women 
and girls, up to that time apparently unmoved, arose and followed her, and 
broke out in a roar of agony. For several hours there was such weeping, 
confessing, and crying for mercy, as I had never before heard among timid 
Indian women. In front of the altar the men, preachers, and other workers 
present, cried aloud for hours, under the awakening and convicting power of 
the Spirit. 


Lucknow Dasehra Meetings 


Government holidays, called “Dasehra,” are celebrated every year. The 
word comes from “dash” (ten) and “hara” (kill), that is, the killing of the 
ten-headed, and commemorates the mythological killing by Rama of the ten- 
headed monster Ravana, who had abducted Sita. For more than thirty years 


Lucknow Dasehra Meetings 2, 


our mission in Lucknow has used these holidays for a series of religious meet- 
ings. Though there had been much blessing in previous years the monster 
satan was killed in many hearts at Dasehra in October, 1905, and at that time 
the revival broke out thoroughly in our mission. A large number of our 
pastors and workers were present who caught and spread the revival spirit. 

Professor Badley of Reid Christian College thus describes one of the 
services: 


Saturday, October 7, had been set apart by Bishop Warne as “Decision Day” for 
our Hindustani meetings. It was the day when the young people were to decide 
whether or not they would consecrate their lives to Christian service. Two appeals 
were made, one for those who wished in a general way to make a more thorough conse- 
cration of themselves to Christian service, and one for those who desired to declare 
their intention of setting themselves apart for the ministry. Much prayer had been 
offered for that afternoon service, but the results exceeded all expectations. Those 
who had felt called to give themselves to the work of the ministry were asked to enter 
the vestry, and when the invitation was finally given, there must have been rejoicing 
in heaven at the sight. No rush was made for the vestry, but in a holy hush and in 
a calmness that signified deep, strong feeling, young men rose here and there all over 
that large congregation, and walked quietly into the appointed room. They continued 
to go until twenty-six had passed through that door—an open door of opportunity 
such as young men, of no preceding age, have had set before them. We rejoice that 
satan was not able to close it. It stood open till God’s chosen ones had entered and 
it was closed from the inside. What tides of surging selfishness were there hurled 
back, what worldly ambitions were there overcome none may ever know save the one 
who suffered there a notable defeat and Christ who gave the glorious victory. 

The vestry was not empty when the young men had entered it. There were 
assembled all the ordained ministers, visiting and local and (the significance of it) a 
band of six or seven missionaries and others on their knees in one corner of the room. 
There they had been during the whole service, praying as men of God can, praying as 
the greatness of the occasion required, praying that the work of decision should be com- 
plete. There is no time to relate all that happened in that room. It was a very 
Bethel to everyone who had entered. There was a beautiful consecration service of 
half an hour under the leadership of the venerable Dr. T. S. Johnson. Then the 
room was emptied of all save the young men and a few leaders, who continued to pray 
with and exhort those who had just made complete their sacrifice and were then 
breathing a new world. 

Such is a brief account of what took place in the Hindustani Church on ‘Decision 
Day.” It is not enough, however, to chronicle it. The significance of it must be 
pointed out, for there are some who fail to see what this event really means. The 
work of this “Decision Day” is in fact nothing short of epochal. The institution 
which in fifteen years had given but one man to our ministry has today within its 
walls nineteen men consecrated to this work. A new day has dawned. The tide 
of selfishness has been turned backward. A great reproach has been rolled away from 
an institution which, having experienced opposition even in its founding, has been 
thought by many to be doing very little real missionary work through all these years. 
And now at last Reid Christian College is understood—an institution at the very 
heart of success in this land. Even the most short-sighted cannot now fail to see the 
vast significance of its work, for a new era has come. 


Fully to appreciate what happened that day one must realize that these 
young men turned their backs upon attractive prospects in Government service 
and commercial life, which are rapidly opening to these young men of the 
Indian Christian community who have received such educational advantages 
as are given in our Reid Christian College. Graduates of our Reid Christian 


10 [he Revival in the Indian Church 


College can usually begin their business life on a larger salary than they could 
expect to receive as preachers in our mission even at the end of their career. 
Yet these young men deliberately rejected the promise of lucrative positions 
and consecrated themselves to the work of evangelizing India. This spirit 
has steadily spread among our young men until now over 300 of the choicest 
students in our educational institutions have deliberately turned away from 
the prospects of a business career, and in answer to the Holy Spirit’s definite 
call to enter the ministry, have consecrated themselves to the preaching of the 
gospel to the non-Christian millions of this land, knowing that they will receive 
an allowance not larger than $30, $40 or $50 a year with which to support 
themselves and their families. Let me remind the reader that at the beginning 
of the first half century of our India mission we had not a single preacher, 
except one borrowed from the Presbyterians. In addition to our present force 
of Indian ministers, we now have 300 of our choicest young men, educated, 
intellectually equipped and far ahead of the vast majority of the non-Christian 
people, who purpose to give themselves to this work. With this thought in 
mind the reader can understand our rejoicing and something of the marvelous 
outlook and hope that this phase of the revival gives us. In the educational 
institutions of the Woman’s Foreign Missionary Society, there is a still larger 
number of young women who have dedicated themselves to this work. From 
these many of the young men will probably select their life partners. They 
will be fully equipped to care for the women and thus we shall have a great 
army of consecrated, cultured, Spirit-called and also Spirit-filled workers, as 
one outcome of this revival in India. 


The Asansol Revival 


After the awakening in Lucknow, the next outbreak of the revival was at 
Asansol, a city about 120 miles from Calcutta, and the center of a presiding 
elder’s district. We have there boarding schools for Bengali boys and girls 
and a church for the European residents. The Rey. W. P. Byers, presiding 
elder, writes as follows: 


The first news we had of a revival was in a Calcutta paper, in December, 1904, 
in which a brief description was given of the wonderful work which God had begun 
in Wales. In January, 1905, in a letter from Edinburgh came a little card on which 
appeared these words: 


Will you make this your 
DAILY PRAYER; 
Until the answer comes? 
O LORD, send a revival and 
begin in me, for Jesus’ sake. Amen. 


Promises to plead: Isa. 57. 15; Psa. 188. 7. 
Results to follow: Psa. 21. 10-15; Hos. 14. 4-8. 


We had several hundred of these cards printed and circulated among our people and 
then we began to pray for a revival. Each week our hearts were stirred by the 
accounts of what was going on in Wales, as printed in Mrs. Penn-Lewis’s letters in 
the “Life of Faith.” 

We scarcely dared to hope for such gracious manifestations for India, but we 
kept on praying. In the month of May we saw the first accounts of the revival in 


The Asansol Revival 11 


the Khasia Hills, but we thought that this was connected with the Welsh churches, 
and what we had longed for seemed as far off as ever. In June we heard of the work 
in Pundita Ramabai’s Home, and in August we learned of God’s gracious work in 
Sialkot, in the Punjab. . 

Then we began to think that there might be hope for other parts of the country 
and for backward Bengal. On October 1 our bishops appointed a week of prayer for 
India, and we exhorted our people to give themselves faithfully to unusual prayer 
during that week. It benefited them so much and they felt so encouraged that they 
sent me word of their resolve to keep on praying even more earnestly and to spend 
more time in prayer until the revival came. 

By the close of October we began to receive spiritual “shocks,” and to experience 
the presence of God’s Spirit moving among us. Prayer had become a pleasure, and we 
all took delight in lingering at the Throne of Grace. Each day we seemed to advance, 
and to bring ourselves nearer Christ till at last it appeared to us that each day we 
could hear more distinctly the sound of His approaching footfall. 

On Sunday morning, November 12, 1905, as we started off for service the query 
in our hearts was, “Will the baptism come today?’ He said: “Not many days 
hence.” But will it be today? 

After the preaching, the Bengali pastor invited those who desired to seek salva- 
tion to come forward, and four of the older girls arose, came to the communion rail, 
and began to pray and cry out for forgiveness. T'wo of the older boys also came 
forward and presently nearly everybody in the church was weeping while the seekers 
kept calling upon Jesus to forgive and to save them. This continued amid the greatest 
lamentation for an hour or more and then permission was granted to those who 
wished to leave the church. The seekers all remained, however, and two other girls 
fell on their knees crying and praying. It was about twelve o’clock when they all 
became quiet and we could leave the church. This awakening was wonderful and 
everybody seemed overawed by the presence and power of God. -Passersby stopped 
and inquired what was the matter inside and why the people were all crying and 
calling out for mercy and forgiveness. Had we not been prepared for it, I am sure 
we would have been alarmed, for we had never before seen anything like it. 

While District Conference was in session we prayed that it might be a Pentecost 
and that all of our workers might be blessed and baptized with the Holy Spirit. We 
did not realize what we had asked for until a baptism of fire, such as that which 
fell upon the apostles, fell also upon us. ‘Then we could understand the second 
chapter of Acts and the prophecy made by Joel, and what Paul meant when he said, 
“Be filled [intoxicated] with the Spirit.” Oh, what glory was revealed, what visions 
were vouchsafed us at that time, and what blessed results have followed! We now 
realize more fully what a mighty work God has wrought and is carrying on among 
us. Our hearts leap for joy and we often clap our hands for very gladness of heart. 
Our eyes have seen the King, and the glory of the most High has overshadowed us, 
transforming life and making all a tender and deep psalm of thanksgiving. Hallelujah 
and praise for evermore! Amen! and Amen! We cannot estimate our Father’s great 
work or prophesy how far it will reach, but of one thing we are assured—that what 
He hath begun He will perform until the day of Jesus Christ, and the agonized prayers 
of His children will be answered. 

The spirit of prayer which prevails in this revival has taught us the, secret of 
power with God. The people pray audibly all together and they delight to spend 
hours in this attitude before God. Praying bands and prayer circles have done much 
to promote all that has been wrought this year. The victory is first taken on our 
knees. “If you ask—I will do,” and when the sound of prayer is bursting forth 
into constant praise, the victory is not far off. 

The most wonderful year in the history of mission work in India has just 
closed, and the year 1906 will ever be remembered as the time when thousands of 
persons came under the influence of the Spirit of God. “Glory and praise be unto 
Him that sitteth upon the throne and unto the Lamb forever and ever.” Amen. 


12 The Revival in the Indian Church 


The Lepers are Cleansed 


Bishop Robinson was present at some of the meetings of the Asansol revival 
and has written much concerning it. I will quote what he has written about a 
meeting in the Asansol Leper Asylum, an institution containing about 120 
inmates. Bishop Robinson, the missionaries and the Indian workers held a 
service in the asylum on December 12, 1905. After several addresses, testi- 
monies and prayers, half a dozen or more unconverted lepers asked for prayers 
on their behalf. Bishop Robinson writes: 


It was unspeakably touching to see in some instances the mere remains of hands 
uplifted. ‘The workers were deeply affected and when we knelt to pray, one and 
another opened their hearts to the Lord in earnest petition for His blessing upon 
the poor lepers. One lad of nine (an untainted child) prayed most fervently for 
the conversion of his unconverted mother, who was one of the company of lepers 
present. Mr. Byers tells me that she was happily converted some days later. Soon 
the power of God came upon the whole assembly, and they all prayed with one voice 
and with one accord. Then they began to sing, and such singing! In a short time 
all were on their feet, and shouts of praise ascended to God. Shall we ever forget 
that sight! 'The lepers seemed to have exceptional strength given them to stand 
upright. How some of them managed to balance themselves on feet from which toes 
and heels had been largely eaten away, was a wonder to us. But still more wonderful 
was it to behold scores of these people actually dancing, to express the joy of their 
souls! One poor fellow propped himself by'leaning his back against the wall, and 
thus supported he swung his arms back and forth and shouted aloud his praise of 
Jesus. That dear man, let me say, has told of his wonderful vision of Jesus. For a 
couple of days afterward he actually went about with his eyes closed, not blinded by 
what he had seen, but as though he desired no earthly sight to blot out the entrancing 
vision which had been vouchsafed to him. 

Among the women also there was great joy. One converted woman in whom the 
disease had been working a comparatively brief time, stood with closed eyes in the 
midst of the company and with a dignity and abandon that impressed us, passionately 
appealed to God for the salvation of all the unconverted women around her. These 
she indicated by outspread hands and significant gestures. It was a beautiful sight 
worthy of the pencil of a Raphael or a Rubens. In front sat the wreck of a woman, 
well stricken in years, unable to stand, huddled up in her cotton chaddar, swaying 
rapidly to and fro and praying most earnestly. On another young woman’s face was 
the “solar look’? betokening Christ’s great peace in her heart. Looking at her face 
one found it difficult to believe that it adorned the body of one doomed to a wasting 
death which was creeping on her apace. 

Going down the aisle and questioning the lepers here and there, it was a joy to 
find that God was blessing the poor souls and was revealing His love to their hearts. 
Some were carried away by the glorious experience of the hour, and found it difficult 
to tell, pefhaps, whether they were in the body or out of it. Such uplifting joy had 
never before struck their hearts. They seemed to be spiritually intoxicated, and the 
same might be truthfully said of others present. We listened with great delight to 
the beautiful unconventional testimonies of regenerated and Spirit-anointed lepers. 
My soul did magnify the grace that could so wonderfully transform these poor human 
wrecks. Think of it, readers! Gladness and joy filling the hearts of persons in such 
an awful condition, and they at leisure from their own desperate state taking upon 
themselves the burden and responsibility of intercession on behalf of the unsaved 
world, from which they are forever separated! Is it not wonderful that these 
terribly disadvantaged ones, with their apologies for bodies and mere remnants of 
limbs, should be capable of entering into fellowship with the Son of God and of 
becoming partakers of the highest blessings of our holy faith? Some are actually 
asking permission to visit nearby villages to bear their testimony for Christ. 


Moradabad 13 


There was one dear fellow whose fingers were eaten away to their base and 
whose feet were about half their normal size. Dexterously balancing himself as he 
stood in the aisle, with his stump palms crossed upon his breast and his eyes lifted 
entrancedly to heaven, he praised God for his salvation in a most affecting manner. 


Moradabad 


Moradabad is the headquarters of a presiding elder’s district and is the 
city in which Bishop and Mrs. Parker did much of their life work. In that 
district alone there are now over 15,000 Christians. Beginning in a Girls’ 
Boarding School, a very gracious revival has extended throughout that district. 
The North India Conference was held at Moradabad in January, 1906, and at 
an after-dinner meeting on January 4, emphasis was laid upon the place of 
prayer in a revival. When the girls’ school was reopened, after Conference, a 
room was set apart for a prayer room, a prayer tent was erected for the mis- 
sionaries and the morning hour from seven to eight was designated for special 
prayer. These prayer rooms were regularly used. Early in February a num- 
ber of the unsaved began to seek salvation. One day four girls were clearly 
converted, and from that time on some one was saved nearly every day. There 
were no special meetings, there was no excitement, nothing but prayer. But 
the spirit of conviction was spreading and soon the school room had to be 
used as a prayer room to accommodate the increased numbers. ) wh 

Early in March the power of the Spirit came upon these girls. On the 
evening of the eighth they continued praying longer than usual and after nine 
o’clock the school bearer, Knowing that they were required to go to bed at that 
time, sent them out, extinguished the light, and locked the doors. But the 
giris could not stop praying, and instead of going to their rooms as usual they 
went to the prayer room and the veranda just outside. About eleven o’clock 
one of the Hindustani teachers aroused one of the assistants and asked her 
to go quickly and see what was the matter with the girls. She went to the 
prayer room as soon as possible and found all of them kneeling or prostrate 
on the floor, crying, praying and singing. Amazed and puzzled as to what she 
ought to do, she finally determined that as they had been praying so long 
and it was so late, they ought to go to bed, so she stepped in among them 
and told them so. But her voice was not heard on account of loud praying and 
weeping. Hesitating again but feeling that it would be wrong to allow them 
to stay there longer, she finally succeeded in getting them to their rooms. 
The same thing happened the next night, but the girls were allowed to pray 
as long as they wished and for several nights thereafter many continued till 
one or two o’clock, and some all night. While their strength was being used 
in this way their school work was reduced to a minimum, and although it was 
nothing uncommon for some one to faint while at prayer, no one seemed to 
suffer from the strain. 

Many were gloriously saved, and they looked like different girls, sang 
like different girls, and were different girls. 

Their own meetings were continued every evening, but though prayer was 
still the chief thing, they added praise and testimony, at the same time exhort- 
ing those still unsaved. Night after night they worked and prayed until 
finally every girl was converted. Then they began to intercede for their 
brothers, for Bareilly Orphanage, for Pithoragarh and for other places. Some 


14 The Revival in the Indian Church 


had visions, others saw lights. Satan was not long in finding out about this 
revival and he became a real person to many. One night a few girls had 
planned to gather in the prayer room after the meeting, to pray for some special 
object. One of those most advanced spiritually was late that evening and as 
she came the others heard her talking and apparently quarreling with some 
one, and they wondered what had happened. She explained to them afterward 
that she had been talking to Satan, that he had been trying to keep her from 
going to pray, and was so real to her that she talked aloud to him and told 
him to leave her alone and be gone. 

In October the Rev. and Mrs. W. P. Byers and the writer went there for 
a few days of special services. The revival fire in the Girls’ School became 
a flame and broke out in the boys’ boarding school, where prayer continued 
all night and scores of boys and young men were converted, not so much 
during the meetings as during the prayer service that followed. In one of 
these meetings I remember counting over twenty testimonies given by young 
men converted between midnight and two o’clock in the morning, while lying 
awake and praying in their beds. The day before the closing meeting I 
announced that there would be a decision hour, when those young men who 
felt called of the Spirit to give up worldly pursuits and to prepare for the 
ministry might make known this decision. Christian young men educated as 
they are could commence business on a salary of Rs. 40 a month, rising to 
hundreds a month. But to enter the ministry meant that after graduating 
from the theological school they begin their work at Rs. 20 or less a month 
with no prospect of ever rising to one hundred rupees. All this was made 
plain before the invitation was given, but imagine my joy when fifty-seven 
Of our choicest students came forward without delay and kneeling around the 
altar consecrated themselves and entered their names as candidates for the 
work of the ministry. What an outlook is in that district for the second half 
century of our mission! 

Some weeks later the District Conference was held, at which were assem- 
bled the preachers, teachers and other workers among these 15,000 Christians. 
The usual business was transacted but Saturday and Sunday were set apart 
for special evangelistic services for the preachers and Christians on the Dis- 
trict. The meetings were held in a grove, in which a large tent had been set 
up, and the audience numbered over a thousand. About half past seven on 
Friday evening the spirit of intercessory prayer which is a marked feature 
of this revival came upon over one hundred of the girls from the boarding 
school and they began to pray. For lack of suitable places in their private 
quarters where they might kneel they prayed for an hour standing. Miss 
Means, one of the missionaries, was told about it and took them to a tent. 
There without a leader they prayed hour after hour for the descent of the 
Holy Spirit upon the encampment. At half past eleven they had been praying 
since half past seven. I walked around them and listened to their prayers. 
With the exception of one or two the girls were so completely in communion 
with God that they were unaware of my presence. If ever there has been 
such praying as this in the history of the Christian Church, I do not know 
where it has been recorded. 

I had intended to remain through the session of the District Conference 
but was summoned by wire on a matter of urgent business and had to leave 
at midnight. I shall let my wife, who remained, tell of the culmination of 


months of prayer: 


Moradabad 15 


On Saturday night, the Rev. J. R. Chitambar, the Christian Headmaster of the 
Lucknow Boys’ High School, preached the sermon, after which a call was given to 
those who desired the fullness of the Spirit. The preachers and workers filled the 
altars on the men’s side, and the school girls and some of the women crowded the 
other side. Such praying to heaven as I heard that night I had never heard before. 
Timid school girls prayed in public for the power to work, for their fathers and 
mothers, for the Moradabad Church and District, and for the preachers and mis- 
sionaries. As we watched some of them, we wondered if it really were possible that 
Hindustani women could take such a part and have no fear. One little girl of four- 
teen or thereabouts had turned her face heavenward and was earnestly praying that 
Christ would come that night to the people of Moradabad. She was seemingly in 
agony. The fingers were clinched in the earnestness of her prayer. Then she said 
in ecstasy: “He is coming, He is coming.” A moment later came the glad word: “He 
has come, He has come.’”’ With a beautiful smile like heaven’s light upon her face, 
she stopped praying, and like a child who has received a gift from a friend, she laid 
her head on the platform and found the Saviour’s peace and rest. No one seeing this 
girl] would have said “hysteria” or ‘‘excitement,’” and yet she was but one of two 
hundred. 

After some time spent in prayer, testimonies were called for. Several workers 
rose and confessed that they had been careless and half-hearted in their work, that 
God had shown them their sin, and that they had repented and had received forgive- 
ness, but felt that they must confess their sins. One man with tears in his eyes said: 
“T have had hard feelings against another man for many years, but now I want to 
forgive him and he is dead. What shall I do?’ Several of the girls gave beautiful 
testimonies, and all told of praying for friends many months. One girl said: “I 
have a message. God gave me a vision on my bed last night. I saw God on His 
throne with Christ the Son before Him. The throne was surrounded by light as 
vivid as lightning and by great glory. The Father said to the Son ‘Go and judge the 
world. It is time.’ I heard Christ plead for the sinful world, and I saw the tears of 
grief running down his cheeks. Then I heard Him say, ‘Oh Father, give them more 
time at Moradabad. There are more that will turn to me there. Give them more 
time.’”’ The girl added, “It was not a dream, for I had been praying, and the Spirit 
came to me then.” Several others told how the Spirit had come to them in power. 

One girl, who had: been very unkindly treated by her father, told how she had 
been blessed, and added, “I am praying that father and mother may get the blessing 
too.” She had scarcely sat down when her father sprang to the platform and began 
to speak. We trembled, for we did not know what was coming, as the man had been 
in deep trouble, fighting with himself for months, although he blamed others. He had 
been one of our best preachers, but had fallen into discontent and unhappiness. He 
now confessed to unfaithfulness in his work and anger and cruelty toward his family, 
and especially toward this girl. He asked his friends to forgive him and begged his 
daughter to pray that he might again be of service. When he had finished speaking 
he called for the girl, and met her at the side of the altar, clasping her in his arms 
and asking her to love and forgive him. There were few dry eyes in that company as 
we all joined in a song of thankfulness. Just as this man came to the platform, a 
girl hidden from him by the pulpit rushed over to Miss Means, weeping and shaking as 
if in fear. Miss Means tried to quiet her, and asked what was wrong. The girl told 
her between sobs that she had been praying and had seen Satan on the platform be- 
side her as if he were waiting for someone. He seemed angry, she said, and fire 
darted from his eyes, but he grew more dreadful looking and seemed still more anxious 
to get some one who was coming to the altar. When the man reached the altar, 
Satan, she said, ran out of the tent. When she grew quieter she told us more about 
it. To those of us who knew the struggle that must have gone on in that man’s 
heart before he came out and was willing to confess, it seemed that Satan had surely 
been there, although the rest of us did not see him as the girl had done. 

Many others gave testimony that night to the great blessing, and we felt indeed 


16 The Revival in the Indian Church 


that the Lord promised a blessing for the next day, the Sabbath. The meeting was 
dismissed and the people were told to be much in prayer for the services on the 
morrow. A quiet little prayer meeting for the work of the next day was held among 
the missionaries, and then we went to our tents. <A friend shared mine that night, 
and as we passed the meeting tent we saw the men gathered in there in prayer. The 
girls had been praying in their tent before dinner time and the Misses Means and 
Wright went in to see them. They had no place in which to gather except the open 
space in the center. This was their dressing room, and as some water from hand 
washing had been spilled upon the ground they could not kneel, but were standing, 
and had been praying in this position for an hour. Miss Means took them out near 
her tent and had another hour’s meeting there, after which she sent them to their 
beds. But we heard next day that many of these girls had spent the whole night in 
prayer. 

At any hour that night when either my friend or I were awake we heard voices 
in prayer from the encampment of the Hindustani people beyond, and sometimes a 
burst of song from some one who was too happy to keep quiet. 

Hight A. M. on Sunday found the big tent full. It was beautiful in the early 
morning light. The women had on their warm, bright-colored chaddars, the children 
were clean, the men and boys were well brushed and neat, and the whole congrega- 
tion thus maintained a Sabbath air. The Rev. J. R. Chitambar spoke again, giving 
a short talk on full consecration, and then gave the call for the altar service. Many 
came forward, quite a few of whom were women workers. A short time was spent 
in prayer, then a man began to weep bitterly. When some of the workers questioned 
him, he confessed that he had done wrong and had hurt others and he felt that he must 
get right with them before he could get right with God. The people were among the 
audience, and one or two of the workers helped him to hunt them up, and they all 
knelt in prayer together. This seemed to be just the thing needed to break down the 
reserve. One after another rose and with tears confessed to hatred, evil speaking, 
unkind dealing and wrong-doing toward others. Those wronged persons who were 
present met the repentant ones half way and together they knelt with clasped hands 
to pray for each other. At times there were five or six such groups meeting simul- 
taneously. As each confessing one rose, cries of “God be thanked” were heard, or 
bursts of song from happy hearts. The meeting continued in this way from eight 
until almost eleven o’clock, when the presiding elder closed it, so that the congrega- 
tion might have breakfast before the next service at eleven-thirty. 

At this meeting a quiet talk by the Rev. William Peters, presiding elder of 
Budaun District, and one of God’s faithful servants, was followed by the sacrament 
of the Lord’s Supper. It seemed to me that after the morning storm of repentance 
and tears all were especially ready to renew their vows at the Lord’s table. The 
service was one of the most beautiful in which I have ever taken part. The spirit of 
love and repose seemed to rest upon the communing people, and at its close we said to 
one another, “The Lord is here today.” Some of us were speaking together of the 
way in which the people had prayed the night before, and one of the Hindustani min- 
isters, the Rev. Mr. Cutting, related an incident that helped us to understand why 
the Spirit had come upon the camp. The people were expecting it. He said that 
about three o’clock in the morning, he was in his bed praying for the work, and as he 
lay quiet, he heard a low voice calling some one in the next tent. It was a mother 
calling her fourteen year old boy: ‘“Wake up, my son, and let us pray for the meetings 
tomorrow. It is to be the great feast day you know. Wake up, and let us pray.” 
In a very short time he heard the mother and the son praying together in their tent. 

The Rey. Lewis A. Core, presiding elder, says, however, that the best service of 
the day was the last one. Dr. William A. Mansell preached a powerful sermon, and 
at its close asked those who had not yet fully entered into peace with God to come 
forward. and a few responded. Then he asked those who wanted to pray to come for- 
ward to help the seekers, and the whole audience came forward as one person, 
and pressed around the pulpit as closely as possible. Such a season of prayer and 


Revivals in Various Places 17 


testimony as that which followed I had never before witnessed. Many testified that 
this was paradise to them. Others, seeing the tears of joy and hearing the burning 
words of testimony and exhortation, said: “We can now understand why the people 
thought that the Christians at Pentecost were filled with new wine.” For half an 
hour I tried to close the meeting, but could not, and therefore it continued for nearly 
four and a half hours. 

Then followed such a scene as it has been the privilege of few to witness, The 
audience with one accord, and with the greatest joy coming from full hearts, sang 
over and over such songs as “Blessed be the Name,” ete. This was accompanied by 
shouting and waving of handkerchiefs, and by every evidence of the fullness of joy 
and of the Spirit. It was blessed, blessed, and few went away unblest. I have never 
seen such an outpouring of divine power, such joy and fullness of the Spirit. It was 
a wondérful evidence that God hears prayer, and it was a splendid signal victory for 
Jesus. 


Revivals in Various Places 


During October, 1906, when the Dasehra meetings were in session at Luck- 
now, the Rev. William A. Mansell was holding revival services in Bareilly 
for the theological students and the congregation generally. Such a revival 
as had never before been known broke out among the students. The Girls’ 
Orphanage, founded by the Butlers after the Mutiny, is also located at Bareilly. 
In it there are several hundred girls and young women, and from it the 
mission has received many of its best women workers and home-makers. For 
a year or more Satan seemed to be putting forth his mightiest powers to 
destroy the spiritual life of the Orphanage. Some girls seemed to be pos- 
sessed. Mrs. Benjamin J. Chew, who was in charge, wrote: 


Girls would deny sin. Girls detected in the act of stealing, lying, and even worse 
sins, would call upon God as a witness to their purity. 


Miss Singh, my spiritual helper, went with me to Dasehra, Lucknow. How the 
devil tried to keep us back. On September 25, while still at Lucknow, I said, “Miss 
Sing, have you victory for Bareilly?’ She said, ‘‘No.” I added, “We must get it 
here.” 


Mrs. Chew was in our home at Lucknow on the final night of a struggle that 
had gone on for over a year. We talked over the promises for an hour or 
more and prayed together. Bishop Robinson was also present. About ten 
o’clock we retired, and concerning that night, Mrs. Chew writes as follows: 


I went to bed, but not to sleep. I went over all the ground and said there is 
nothing left for me to do. But I am willing to be annihilated myself if only God will 
save these girls! The Spirit asked me, “Do you really mean that?’ I said, “Yes.” 
Then he said, “Are you willing to give up heaven and the hope of seeing loved ones 
there—all for Bareilly?” 'That was comparatively easy, for I said, “Yes, they are 
with Jesus, and I have trusted them there. Yes, I can leave them for eternity.” 
Then came the test! “Will you give up seeing Jesus?” Never see Jesus! What a 
test! The hope and aim of one’s life! I argued and struggled with myself for 
hours, and some time between one and two in the night I said “Yes. If that is His 
will, banish me, do anything, but save Bareilly!” I fell asleep then, but was 
awakened at three with such a sense of victory in my soul that I was sure God had 
heard my prayer and that now salvation had come. I tell it to His glory in all 
humility and sacredness. I got up and telegraphed to Bareilly: “Psalm 47.” At that 
time I had not heard a word from Bareilly. A later wire from Mr. Mansell told of 
victory. I could hardly wait to get back to Bareilly, so anxious was I to see what 
God had wrought. It was not like the place that I had left but a few days before. 


18 The Revival in the Indian Church 


The next morning after my return I had a meeting with my girls. God spoke to 
them, and they were hours on their faces in prayer and weeping, not loud, but deep. 

The spirit of prayer so increased that it seemed as if every soul was praying in 
a soft undertone. Some of the girls sang six and eight different tunes in perfect har- 
mony, an overflow of soul to God. I said, ‘Truly, I am compassed about with songs 
of deliverance.” I stayed with them one night till 1:30 because they wanted to con- 
fess to me. One girl would not confess, but remained in the dark for days, and the 
whole school was praying for her. I explained that she would die in darkness, and 
that I was sure she had something else to confess before God and man. Different 
girls prayed with and for her and cried aloud to God to give her peace, but peace 
would not come. One night she got up and made a partial confession, with which 
ordinarily we would have been satisfied. But one girl said to her: ““‘We want to 
know if you have perfect peace in your soul now?” ‘The girl replied, “Ji Nahin” 
(No). As quick as a flash about thirty girls were on their faces, and such a volume 
of prayer as did go up. I was amazed at it all. The next night she won the victory, 
and then it was song. So it goes, day and night. 


Giving Up Bad Habits 


In every place where the revival spread questionable habits were given up. 
At Muttra there were old.men who smoked. One man over seventy had 
smoked for more than sixty years. Young men had been bringing in their 
huaqas (pipes) and giving them over to us. I had noticed this old man, 
Tori Dutt, rise in haste and rush from the meeting. I thought to myself it 
has become too hot and he is angry and has left. But no, in a short time I 
saw him running back and bringing his huqqa, which he handed over to me. 
A huqqa is a large bowl with a stem over it. The smoke is drawn through 
water before it enters the mouth. This huqga was on exhibition at the Jubi- 
lee. After this, other remarkable confessions were made on this and other 
subjects, and much cleaning up work was done at the headquarters of a district 
of about fifteen thousand Christians. This was one characteristic of the revival. 


The Meerut Revival 


The account of the revival in Meerut as given by the Rev. William P. 
Byers is as follows: 


There had been an open air District Conference devotional meeting, and after 
dinner while the missionaries were apart praying, Mrs. Buck said, “Oh, I hear a 
noise.” At that moment one of the teachers came rushing into the room saying, 
“Come quickly to the school.” Before they could get across the garden there was 
such a lamentation and crying out for mercy and forgiveness that you would have 
thought a massacre was taking place in the girls’ compound. It was simply awful! I 
never heard such terrible signs of repentance and loud wailing as on that night. 

I was in the dining room at the time praying with the bearers, and as we rose 
from our knees the noise from the girls’ school reached our ears. I began to clap my 
hands and to praise God for His great love and mercy. 

I took a lantern and made my way to the girls’ quarters, and there witnessed a 
sight which those present will always remember. All the girls were on the floor 
weeping, beating their breasts and crying at the top of their voices as though their 
hearts would break. They paid no attention to any of us, but kept on crying and 
confessing till ten o’clock, when they became more quiet and were pointed to the 
“Tamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world.” Soon they began to sing and 
to claim pardon through the blood of Jesus, and by eleven o’clock nearly every one of 


Pilibhit District ~ 19 


them was joyfully converted and gave testimony to having found peace. It was a 
remarkable sight upon which we looked. All those girls were on their faces before 
God. Chums and sisters had their arms around each other, and were confessing their 
sins together at the feet of Jesus. 

Mrs. Buck and the young ladies were quite overcome and rejoiced with exceeding 
joy over this work of grace among the girls. The preachers who came in were filled 
with amazement and cried, prayed and praised God. They will never forget that 
affecting sight, and now they understand what it is to be convicted by the Holy Spirit. 

It seems that all day the girls had been in a very serious and subdued mood, and 
several of them had gone into a room to pray with other girls. Presently one of them 
got up hurriedly and in alarming tones urged that some one go and call all the girls, 
adding that something dreadful was going to happen just then. Then she began to 
shriek and cry out, throwing herself on the ground and in a minute all the girls were 
weeping and confessing their sins in a manner that would have alarmed anyone who 
did not know what was the matter. Glory be to God for His great and gracious work. 

But that is not al]. Almost simultaneously with the girls, the boys in the board- 
ing school began to cry and shout, and there was great excitement among them. 
They were too far distant to have heard the girls shouting. I had come over from 
the girls’ school to call Mr. Buck, and just as I reached the house a man came to me 
with a telegram and asked, ‘“‘Sahib, what is the matter? There is an awful sound com- 
ing from over there,” pointing in the direction of the boys’ school. I went to the door 
and heard the roar of repentance coming from the dormitories, and thought I had 
better go and see if I could direct or help the boys a little. 

There they were on their faces sobbing, and praying and crying out to God as if 
their hearts would break. The preachers had come in, and some were praying and 
erying while others looked on the picture with bewilderment, tears coursing down 
their cheeks and all deeply moved at the unusual sight. One or two were walking up 
and down trying to give some helpful instruction, and the headmaster was pouring 
out his heart for his boys, the tears streaming from his eyes. 

At first we had to let them cry out their penitence, and by and by when we were 
able to get a hearing we pointed them to Jesus. A number found peace, and the 
preachers were greatly blessed. They know now how God can work, and rejoice 
that they have been permitted to see His salvation. It was glorious. 


Pilibhit District 


In my journal of November 12, 1906, I find the following note concerning 
a Hindustani district in which no missionary has ever lived: 


I have been here since Thursday, and this is Monday. The District Conference 
was in session. The district contains 8,000 Christians, and during most of the time 
it has been under a Hindustani presiding elder. In the business sessions were re- 
ported three quarrels and they were of such a character that they were referred to 
committees for investigation. I had come here for a gracious revival, but could only 
remain over Sunday. On Friday night three cases of quarrels were referred to com- 
mittees, and it seemed as if Satan were having the victory. At the evening meeting, 
when the congregation were at prayer, I was led to expound Matthew 5, 238, 24, 
which teaches that there cannot be acceptable worship when one knows that his 
brother “has aught against him,” and has not done his part toward reconciliation. I 
said emphatically “You are not to wait until your enemy comes to you and then for- 
give him, but you are to go to your enemy and be reconciled.” The Holy Spirit used 
this message, and during the night—for the people were up most of the night—the 
difficulties were adjusted, and on Saturday morning when we came to the business 
session all quarrels had been settled. Saturday night one strong man was over- 
powered and became unconscious. All the Sunday meetings were blessed, and six 
huqqas (pipes) were brought and given up before the congregation. In the evening 


20 The Revival in the Indian Church 


I was led to preach on Christ’s self-humiliation as shown in His having come volun- 
tarily for our sakes, from a position of equality with God to the “death of the 
Cross,” and told them that until their hearts were filled with a love like that for 
even the most humble of the village Christians, they had not received the baptism of 
love. After the sermon came a perfect tornado of prayer from about three hundred 
people. Then a sacred hush came over the audience, and for more than an hour 
everything seemed as still as death. Several attempted to sing, but there was no 
response. Strong, educated men—not emotional villagers, not a single woman—but 
the strongest men in the audience were overpowered and lay unconscious. Many saw 
visions of Christ, and one young man, the last one to come to consciousness, said when 
he rose, his face shining with a heavenly radiance, ‘“‘My heart is filled to overflowing 
with divine love. Oh, it is glorious.” Then he burst out singing “‘Blessed be the 
Name.” He is one of our young men who has an English education. 'There were a 
number of little boys standing round and he soon began shaking hands with them. 
Truly ‘Heaven came down our souls to greet.” One man sang a hymn of victory 
stating that Christ is king of India, Nepal and Tibet. So far as he or any of us know, 
the words and tune of this hymn were composed as he went along. The spirit of 
prophecy came upon others. Wonderful prophecies were made of the way in which 
Christ would win India. I have never heard such prophecies as these from the lips 
of our village Hindustani people or even from the lips of Bishop Thoburn when 
he was before a great audience and seemed to be under the greatest spirit of prophecy. 
I had never been in a meeting anything like it except one night in Canada, in the second 
year of my ministry, and such a revival followed that meeting as I have never seen 
since. One of the strongest men in the audience had the jerks which affected him from 
head to foot. He is the only man I have ever seen who had this manifestation of the 
Spirit. A missionary who went into a meeting in the Khasia Hills revival where 
the people were having the jerks, said to the resident missionary after the meeting, 
“That is all put on.” The missionary replied, “You do it.” The other man tried, 
but could not jerk even one hand as rapidly as the man with the jerks jerked all 
over. Then the resident missionary said, “Now jerk your other hand, your feet and 
your whole body all at the same time.” He saw at once that he could not, and said, 
“Tt is the work of the Spirit.” 


Allahabad 


The Rev. Dennis Clancy, presiding elder, reports as follows: 


For many months we had been praying for a genuine “old time” revival. A year 
ago in our summer school our people were blessed, but the work was not of the deep, 
lasting kind for which we had hoped. We had recourse to prayer and enlisted other 
praying bands to unite with us in prayer for our district, and for Allahabad in 
particular. When the revival came, it did not come as the result of any special effort 
on our part, but in direct answer to prayer. It began in the regular mid-week prayer 
meeting on Thursday evening, September 6, 1906. A spirit of deep conviction of 
sin seemed to come upon all present, and one after another began to confess their 
sins and to cry to God for mercy. The meeting went on in this way for several 
hours, and it seemed almost impossible to close it. I was not present, but the Hindu- 
stani pastor, Joseph Nelson, had the good sense to recognize this as the work of the 
Holy Spirit, and he accordingly arranged to carry on a series of special meetings. The 
result was glorious. Everything seemed to be ready for it, and this time the work was 
thorough. There was deep conviction of sin, public and private confession of sin, 
which was followed by restitution and an earnest effort to right wrongs which had 
been done, and then came the consciousness of pardon and unspeakable joy. One 
girl who had had a great struggle was so happy that she was completely beside 
herself for a while, and then a great peace settled down upon her that seemed to con- 
tinue without interruption for several weeks. ‘This was all the more remarkable as 


Characteristics of the Revival 21 


the girl naturally had a very unhappy disposition. It would take a long time to tell 
the complete story of those revival weeks. ‘The consciences of the girls became so 
tender that they brought back little things that they had taken—pieces of cloth, 
ribbon, old cast-off pictures, etc.—which they had placed among their treasures, and 
with tears in their eyes confessed their sins and asked forgiveness. Boys and young 
men who were trusted and respected dug up the sins of past years and came forward 
and asked to be forgiven for these wrongs, not trying to spare themselves in the 
least. I can only say, however, that our church at Allahabad was completely trans- 
formed. Old troubles were settled, wrongs were righted, enemies made friends with 
one another and the church was set on fire for God. Workers who had previously 
been indifferent were wonderfully stirred up and have since preached the gospel as 
never before. 


In Allahabad there is a Prem Sabha, or an evening meeting for those who 
cannot attend services during the day. On the night appointed for this meet- 
ing I retired early, for I had had a long, busy day. At midnight, however, one 
of our preachers called me up, saying, “Bishop, the church is full of people 
and we want you to preach to them.” I arose, went to the church and found 
a mixed crowd of people there—Christians, some of whom were cold and back- 
slidden, and non-Christians. I preached and the workers and young people who 
had been so wonderfully blessed gave their testimony and the Spirit “fell on 
us aS on them at the beginning.’ Many were mightily convicted, and by 
about two in the morning more than forty had professed conversion and began 
to testify and exhort. Bight of these were Hindus or Mohammedans. This 
service has been followed up by special services in many places and the spirit 
of a whole district has been transformed. 


Characteristics of the Revival 


It has been a revival brought down not so much through preaching as 
through prayer. So far as I can learn from our own mission workers, or from 
those in any other mission, every outbreak of the revival has been preceded by 
much earnest prayer. Telling of a visit to Pundita Ramabai’s, Bishop Robin- 
son wrote, under date of November 8, 1906: 


Last night, after a purposely quiet address, there was the most tremendous re- 
ligious cyclone that ever came within a thousand miles of me. These people do some 
tremendous praying. But the noise of thirteen or fourteen hundred of them praying 
simultaneously at the top of their voices was simply terrific. 


I suppose the noise at Pundita Ramabai’s exceeds that of any other one place 
in India, but the praying often reminds one of the words “with groanings which 
cannot be uttered.” The people seem to “enter into fellowship with Christ in 
His suffering.” When I have seen hundreds of these people in an agony of 
prayer lasting for hours, I have often thought of what is recorded of Christ, 
“and being in an agony He prayed more earnestly.” Yet the agony that I have 
seen has come far short of the agony of Christ, when His “sweat was as it 
were great drops of blood falling to the ground,” but the praying in connection 
with this revival partakes more of fellowship with Christ in the “agonies of 
the garden” than any praying I have ever heard elsewhere. I have seen little 
children pray in “agony’—not for themselves but for the salvation of India, 
“our country’—until great beads of perspiration stood out upon their brows. 

While I was at the Hardoi District Conference this year, a marvelous wave 
of conviction suddenly swept over the audience and they prayed in agony for 


22 The Revival in the Indian Church 


over an hour. Then a great, holy hush settled down upon us, and we could 


not help thinking “Jesus himself” was in the midst of us. One preacher rose 
and said: 


A few weeks ago I received a letter from my daughter, a student in the Mora- 
dabad Girls’ School, who wrote as follows: ‘Father, I have not slept for three nights. 
I have had such a burden of prayer that you and mother might be filled with the 
Holy Spirit for service that I could not sleep.” 


In that very meeting the girl’s prayers were answered, and not only her father 
and mother but all the members of a District Conference were abundantly 
blessed. Let it be borne in mind that this occurred at a District Conference, 
the presiding elder of which was a Hindustani brother, a district where there 
were thousands of Christians, and in which no missionary had ever lived. It 
was glorious, glorious, glorious! 

The companies of Christians in various centers, who had received these 
blessings, were formed into praying bands, and special requests for prayer were 
sent to them. In several places regular account-books have been kept. On 
one page the request for prayer is entered together with the date of same, and 
when the prayers have been answered an entry is made on the opposite page. 
From July to December I attended fifteen of our District Conferences and 
Summer Schools, and in every place we had large audiences, receiving abundant. 
blessings. These have been the most wonderful six months of my life. What 
was the secret? In each case, I gave my itinerary to these praying bands, and 
when I was at any particular place, some hundreds of people were interceding 
for that place. 

I was once called unexpectedly to Jabalpur, in the Central Provinces, and 
spent a Sunday there. Up to that time the revival had not broken out in 
that district. On Saturday I sent telegrams to the praying bands asking them 
to pray for Jabalpur. At the close of an impassioned address on Sunday 
morning, one of the young men began to cry for mercy. He was in such 
agony that the perspiration rolled from his face and he cried for help just 
as one might do if he were being murdered. A wave of conviction then swept 
over the whole audience, and the service that had begun at 8 a. m. did not close 
till 1 pep. m. All the people were greatly blessed. A week later the revival 
broke out in the same district more than a hundred miles from Jabalpur, and 
spread until it reached every center where we had Christians, thus changing 
our whole work. The young man mentioned above who was so powerfully 
convicted, had come from Narsinghpur, where we have an institution in which 
there are about 200 boys and young men. After his return, the influence he 
exerted was so powerful that a tide of spiritual blessing steadily rose, with the 
result that at a special meeting, some months later, more than forty young 
men dedicated their liyes to the work of the ministry to help take the Central 
Provinces for Christ. What more need I say? 


T am now receiving letters like the following: 


I want to ask you to get the bishops to appoint a week of prayer for America on 
the part of the Indian Christians, that a great and mighty revival may be given to 
the Church at home. That thought was suggested to me one night while I was pray- 
ing. We have begun to pray definitely for the revival in America, and we shall watch 
eagerly for the appearance of the flame that will transform the home Church. 


Yet another writes: 


India is now entering upon the period of intercession, such as that which led up 
to the Welsh revival. 


Get the Flame! 23 


They cannot pray quietly but, like Jesus, they “offer up prayers and supplica- 
tions with strong crying and tears,” Hebrews 5. 7. Many are praying, as I write, 
that the news of the revival may be God’s messenger. Here let me insert 


Get the Flame! 


Evan Robert’s Message to the Churches 


While the fire of God is falling, 
While the voice of God is calling, 
Brothers, “GET THE FLAME!” 
While the torch of God is burning, 
Man’s weak efforts overturning, 
Christians, “GET THE FLAME!” 


While the Holy Ghost is pleading, 
Human methods superseding, 
He Himself the “FLAME.” 
Whilst the power hard hearts is bending, 
Yield thy own to him surrendering, 
All—to “GET THE FLAME!” 


For the world at last is waking 

And beneath His spell is breaking, 
Into living flame. 

And our glorious Lord is seeking 

Human hearts, to rouse the sleeping, 
Fired with heavenly flame. 


If to utter life surrender, 

You would work with Christ, remember, 
You must “GET THE FLAME!” 

For the sake of bruised and dying, 

And the lost in darkness lying, 
We must “GET THE FLAME!” 


For the sake of Christ in Glory, 

And the spreading of the story, 
We must “GET THE FLAME!” 

Oh, my soul, for thy refining, 

And thy clearer, brighter shining, 
Do not miss the FLAME. 


On the Holy Ghost relying, 
Simply trusting and not trying, 

You will “GET THE FLAME.” 
Brothers, let us cease our dreaming, 
And while God’s flood-tide is streaming, 

We will have the “FLAME!” 


24 The Revival in the Indian Church 
The Agents Chosen 


The agents whom God has chosen for this revival have often been very 
weak ones. Missionaries of ability, piety and experience have frequently been 
set aside, only to see some native who cannot read, or a child, perhaps, chosen 
to lead the revival. If a child be the agent, it is not infrequently a girl, a 
new departure for India. In many notable instances, the revival has broken 
forth when the missionary was away from home, seemingly to make it clear 
to all that the awakening had not come from any human agency. I have heard 
a number of excellent missionaries say, “I could do nothing but stand aside, 
look on, wonder, rejoice, and let the revival go on.” 

In a very remarkable manner God has shown that he can best use those 
who are “meek and lowly in spirit.” Let me illustrate by relating the following 
well authenticated story, which has been told all over India. A heathen girl 
of thirteen, named Sansuki, living in the Khasia Hills, was wonderfully saved. 
She had many non-Christian relatives, including her parents. A burden of 
“intercessory prayer’ came upon her for the conversion of these relatives, and 
on their behalf she agonized in prayer day and night. While she was praying 
in the early morning hours, as she tells the story, the Saviour appeared to her 
and said: 


There is no preacher in this district humble enough for me to use in bringing 
your relatives to me. If I should use any of the preachers around here, they would 
become proud and would say ‘‘See, what a great preacher I am,” and would take to 
themselves the glory. You are a meek and humble little girl. I will use you. You 
must go and tell the people to come to me and be saved. 


She went about telling her vision, and prayed for the people. The Christian 
workers were humbled, and received the Spirit; the heathen believed, and nine 
hundred souls were brought to Christ. Some months later, when Sansuki’s 
story had become more widely known, a convention was held in one of the 
native states, at a city where a Christian prince lived. The prince wrote and 
asked her to come and live in his royal palace. But she declined the invitation, 
saying: “I am a simple little girl, and where my people dwell I will dwell.” 
Her great work was done over a year ago, and I have at hand a letter, not yet 
a week old, which says “Sansuki is still humble and is working splendidly.” 

The Scripture message found in Philippians 2. 3-8 has been much used: 
“Doing nothing through faction or through vainglory, but in lowliness of mind 
each counting other better than himself; not looking each of you to his own 
things, but each of you also to the things of others. Have this mind in you, 
which was also in Christ Jesus: who, existing in the form of God, counted 
not the being on an equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied him- 
self, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men; and being 
found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, becoming obedient even unto 
death, yea, the death of the cross.” 

The telling of the humility and love of Christ as shown in this passage, 
and the account of His death on the cross, under the power of the Spirit 
exerts over large audiences a marvelous, melting and humbling power. Let 
me relate another well-authenticated story. A man named Gulla, belonging to 
the sweeper, one of the lowest, castes, has also been marvelously used. One 
day a missionary from another station went to see him, and calling at the 
home of the missionary with whom Gulla lived, learned that the latter was 


A Singing Revival 25 


out in the district preaching. The missionary added, “I can give you no idea 
as to when Gulla will return. Sometimes he remains out in the district for 
weeks.” But while they were talking Gulla arrived. The visiting missionary 
ran up to him, clasped him in his arms and said, “I am so glad to see you, for 
I have heard about you. I have also told about you, and now I see you. I 
am so delighted to see one who has done so much.” Whereupon Gulla threw 
himself upon the floor and cried out in agony: “Will the time never come 
when Christians will cease giving glory to men, and will give all the glory 
to God?” How thoroughly that poor man understood the prophecy, “The Lord 
alone shall be exalted in that day” (Isaiah 2. 17). 


A Singing Revival 


Songs of praise have been a notable feature of the revival. The praise 
singing does not begin until after the blessing has been received. Often the 
revival begins suddenly in a new place. Conviction seems to roll like a wave 
over the entire audience, and is followed by a crying in agony for pardon and 
cleansing. When the blessing comes, although no two meetings are alike, it 
also comes sometimes like a wave. Songs are begun softly and quietly, but 
gradually increasing in fervor. The people sing, and sing, and sing. I heard 
of one chorus of praise that was sung over and over again for an hour or more. 
Some of the people compose new hymns while they are singing. As one of the 
outcomes of this revival, there will be a new hymnology in the vernacular. 
Often in the midst of their own beautiful choruses of praise, the congregation 
breaks out singing the translation of the hymn “Hallelujah! Thine the Glory!” 
or a translation of “Blessed be the Name.” Oh, how these dear people do 
sing, saved as they are, not only from heathenism, but also from their sins. 
Sometimes they clap their hands and dance for joy. Personally, I have not 
seen much of the dancing. It is said that most of it has taken place in Presby- 
terian churches. It is even reported that some of the staid old missionaries 
have danced for joy with their happy Indian people. 


The Teaching Given 


The teaching given has been Biblical. By this I mean more than that it 
has been orthodox. I mean that Biblical, not theological, phraseology has been 
used. The teaching has been centered in the following verses: “Then opened 
he their mind, that they might understand the scriptures; and he said unto 
them, Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer, and rise again from 
the dead the third day; and that repentance and remission of sins should be 
preached in his name unto all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. Ye are 
witnesses of these things. And behold I send forth the promise of my Father 
upon you: but tarry ye in the city, until ye be clothed with power from on 
high” (Luke 24, 45-49). 

The story of Christ’s sufferings in Gethsemane and on Calvary, as showing 
the matchless cost of redemption, and God’s infinite love, have been ever-present 
themes. The resurrection, reigning and intercession of Christ, with the thought 
that “All power in heaven and earth” has been given unto Him, and His conse- 
quent superiority in holiness and power over all the gods of the heathen, have 
been prominent in the teaching. 


26 The Revival in the Indian Church 


Repentance has been urged with great earnestness upon all the people. 
The teaching along this line has emphasized the need for repentance in the 
following classes of sin: (1) Enmity. In this connection, the following Scrip- 
ture has been much used: “If, therefore, thou art offering thy gift at the altar 
and there rememberest that thy brother hath aught against thee, leave there 
thy gift before the altar, and go thy way, first be reconciled to thy brother, and 
then come and offer thy gift” (Matthew 5. 23, 24). After this text was thor- 
oughly understood, many quarrels were settled amid weeping and rejoicing. 
“Do not wait until your brother comes to you, but go, go, go to him”’—that is 
the duty on which special emphasis has been placed. (2) Restoration, as in- 
cluded in a genuine repentance, has been faithfully taught (Leviticus 6. 1-5). 
(3) Confession of all sin, with the emphasis on the all. The duty of forsaking 
all sin and entirely consecrating the life to Christ has been urged in the teach- 
ing on repentance. The favorite verse has been, “He that covereth his trans- 
gressions shall not prosper; but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall 
obtain mercy” (Proverbs 28.13). (4) “Remission and cleansing” have also been 
given their proper place. The teaching on this point has centered around the 
passage, “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth 
is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us 
our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1. 8, 9). Below 
are given two of the sentences that have become familiar, as showing the 
necessity of dying unto self and sin, that we may have the “remission and 
cleansing’ necessary in order to live in fellowship with Christ: “You can go 
to Calvary only through Gethsemane’; “Gethsemane and Calvary are on the 
road to Pentecost.” “The spirit-filled life has been preached as the birthright 
of every child of God and many have entered into their inheritance.” 

Great emphasis has been given to the teaching that the preparation for 
Christian living and effective spiritual service is incomplete until “The promise 
of my Father upon you” has been fulfilled. Two words in a wonderful passage 
quoted above have recently been connected in my mind in an entirely new 
manner. These are “Tarry ... until.” The workers have been taught that 
they are to be to the non-Christians of India what the first disciples were to 
their age; that Christ said, “I will send Him unto you.” The teaching has 
been that “you Christians” are the “you” of India. This is God’s order, and 
it cannot be reversed. First the baptism of the Spirit comes upon the Chris- 
tians. Then follows the teaching set forth in John 16. 8, “And he, when he 
is come [upon you] will convict the world in respect of sin, and of righteous- 
ness and of judgment.” The fact has been specially emphasized that this is 
God’s method and order, and that it cannot be changed. 

May I tell an experience, and make a confession? Barly in 1905, I worked 
for a month in the villages of one of our districts, together with the presiding 
elder and a band of native workers, in the hope of reaching a higher caste. 
But the whole month’s work, so far as baptisms were concerned, was a complete 
failure. Why? Because, as I now believe, our preachers were not ready. God 
humbled us and sent us to our knees and to His Word to teach us anew the 
lesson that the Pentecostal Method is the only effective method, and that it 
embodies the only teaching and experience that will save India. I hope that 
we have learned this lesson once for all. 

Another teaching to which great prominence has been given is the duty 
of witnessing for Christ, after having received the baptism of the Spirit as 
an equipment for service. When the fullness of the Spirit has been received, 


The Fruits of the Revival Edy 


the emphasis has been put upon these two truths: “Ye are witnesses of these 
things,” and “Saved to serve.” The revival, therefore, is giving to India a wit- 
nessing Church, and consequently a winning Church. 


The Fruits of the Revival 


We are yet in the midst of the revival, and it is too early to accurately 
estimate the permanent fruits of it. The little church in the mission field is 
to hundreds of millions of non-Christians what the primitive church was to the 
non-Christian world of that age. We think therefore that the standard of 
spirituality is more important than the increase of numbers. Though the 
year 1906 has been especially devoted to the revival in the church, yet there 
have been over 19,000 baptisms and our people are expecting much greater 
victories during 1907. Several years ago the Rev. Henry Mansell introduced 
into India the following hymn: | 


I’m pressing on the upward way, 
New heights I’m gaining ev’ry day ; 
Still praying as I onward bound, 
“Lord, plant my feet on higher ground.” 


Chorus 
Lord, lift me up and let me stand, 
By faith, on heaven’s tableland ; 
A higher plane than I have found, 
Lord, plant my feet on higher ground. 


With the oft-repeated singing of this hymn, an earnest longing and prayer came 
to the Church, both among the Europeans in India and the Indians themselves, 
that we might stand on “higher ground.” 

In giving our Christians a more real sense of sin, we confidently believe 
that the revival has placed our Indian Church on “higher ground.” In this 
land of pantheistic fatalism, where the people lack a keen consciousness of 
personality, and where any true sense of moral responsibility has also been 
lacking, the seeming rarity of a deep and overpowering conviction of sin has 
often been a great burden upon the hearts of missionaries. The statement that 
“the Indian Christians have too little conviction of sin’ has been a criticism 
passed on the Indian Church. In this particular the revival has indeed placed 
the church on “higher ground.” In a letter from the Khasia Hills, it is stated 
that Christians are living on a far higher level than they ever lived on before. 
I have heard missionaries say that they would give anything to have the experi- 
ence of some of the Khasies. One young girl who is noted for her devotion to 
Christ recently said to her missionary, ‘One night when praying I felt myself 
so loathsome that I imagined there was a horrible stench of sin all around 
me and that the terrible smell was stifling me.” This girl, though very young, 
has a wonderful knowledge of the Word of God and spends a great deal of 
her time in communion with God. God has given to our Indian Christians 
such pain for sin, such agony for past failure and such sensitiveness of con- 
Science as to what grieves the Holy Ghost that He has indeed put them on 
“higher ground.” The revival has unmistakably brought to India in a manner 
hitherto unknown a sense of sin. This new sense of sin will be incorporated 
in our literature, our songs and our prayers. It will abide and will lift the 
ideals of the whole Church to “higher ground.” 


28 The Revival in the Indian Church 


Further, repentance for sin and the making of restoration on account of 
past wrongs, such as have been manifested in thousands of lives, also places 
the Church on “higher ground.” A girl of about thirteen, a pupil in one of our 
schools, had been praying and repenting. One day she came to the missionary’s 
room weeping and confessing. She brought back a little piece of cloth about 
one inch square, which she had stolen three years before and on which she had 
worked a little flower, hiding it in the bottom of her little box. In great agony 
she said to the missionary, “I have grieved the Holy Spirit and I can find no 
peace until I return this little bit of stolen cloth.” Sins that were committed 
fifteen or twenty years ago and were unknown to others have been confessed 
and forsaken by our ministers and, so far as possible, amendment and restora- 
tion have been made. The purpose of the love of God as manifested in the 
giving of His Son and the motive of the Son in being “obedient unto death, even 
to the death of the cross,’ have an entirely new meaning. In a new sense, the 
Christians have come to believe that they must enter more fully into sympathy 
with Christ in His sufferings for others, and they say with Paul, “I will fill up 
that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ.”” This does not mean to them 
that there is anything lacking in the atonement of Christ, but the growing belief 
is this: that in order to minister effectively for Christ, we must in a measure 
enter into His sufferings. “The gospel to broken hearts demands the ministry 
of bleeding hearts.” The spirit of David Brainerd is manifested in the prayer 
of many: “I wrestled for the ingathering of souls. I was in such agony from 
sun half an hour high till near dark that I was wet all over with sweat; but 
oh, my Lord did sweat blood for such poor souls: I longed for more compas- 
sion.” I have witnessed in India persons who were in such agony for hours, 
and I have seen an audience all broken up and prostrate before God for an 
hour, after a sermon on the sufferings of Christ on the cross. Christ on the 
cross and Christ on the throne—these are ever-present themes in the revival. 

The members of the Indian Church are also on “higher ground” in their 
faith in what is coming to India through “the unsearchable riches of Christ.” 
They are coming into fellowship with the apostle who was overwhelmed and 
dazzled by the splendor of the thought of Christ’s grace. Speech seemed useless 
to him and description impossible when he exclaimed: “Oh, the unsearchable 
riches of Christ.” Our Indian Christians are now claiming salvation for India’s 
millions through Christ. I heard one of our Rajput preachers cry out as 
though it were a special revelation from God, “Rajputana has been given to 
us, and we must go up and take it, as the children of Israel went up and took the 
promised land.’ Rajputana is a native state, in which the Rajputs or sons 
of the kings live and it is their boast that they have never been conquered. 
There are twelve millions of them and the faith of our little band of Rajput 
Christians has grown into the conviction that the love of Christ will conquer 
and will win for Him a throne in the hearts of the millions of proud Rajputs. 
They also are looking to Christ as the healer of the sorrows of all the “sad- 
faced” multitudes of India. At a great mela, at which the estimated attendance 
was over three millions, I saw these millions of “sad-faced’”’ people going to 
the Ganges to wash away their sins, only to return more hopeless than before. 
Our people are coming to believe that Christ is to be the healer, not of the 
few, but of the hundreds of millions of this great land, and that He will give 
to India a joy which will transform society, making homes in which all will 
be changed, where husbands will love their wives and parents their children. 
Those who belong to the lowest castes, who were in truth “less than the least,” 


The Fruits of the Revival 29 


have caught this spirit of hope and have received “grace” to preach to the 
multitudes with power regarding “the unsearchable riches of Christ,” expecting 
all to “Crown Him Lord of all!” These Indian Christians truly love their 
own land and people. It is a delight to watch an audience of a thousand or 
more of them when they become possessed of this spirit of joy and hope for 
India through Christ. They clap their hands and break forth into uncontrollable 
ecstasy, singing over and over again “Blessed be the Name,” “Blessed be the 
Name.” “Yaro ho sana’; ‘Yaro ho sana.” 

The whole Church is on higher praying ground. There is an old, much-used 
term that has come to have a new meaning among us. I refer to the phrase 
‘“intercessory prayer.” Much of the praying has been done by those who have 
received the Spirit, and therefore have been praying for others. Some seem to 
have the grace of intercession as a “gift of the Spirit.” The thought is that 
Christ on the throne “maketh intercession” and that those who have the gift 
are in fellowship with Him. The central thought is, that God, the eternal 
God of the universe, stands, as it were, like an almighty servant and says: 
“Tf you, my child, will only pray, I will work. If you will only be busy with the 
asking, I will see to the doing.” Not only does He listen to our cry, but He 
acts. Not only does our praying evoke His bounty, but it sets in motion His 
omnipotence. As we enter into the secret chamber, this thought stirs us to 
mighty intercession. Nothing will so soon make us master-pleaders with God 
for a lost world as to whisper to our souls, again and again, this wonderful 
truth: “While I am praying God is really doing that for which I am asking.” 
I know missionaries and Indian Christians in our own and other Missions, of 
whom I may say that they have received the gift of intercession, for they 
remain in intercessory prayer for hours at a time. Much of the revival is due 
to this. The special promise claimed is John 14. 13, 14. 

Many of the missionaries and Indian Christians in their own personal 
experiences have reached “higher ground.” Limited space forbids the mention 
of more than one instance, but with the usual variations in Christian experi- 
ence, it illustrates the typical gaining of “higher ground”: 


For years I have loved the Lord and have served Him. But there are things in 
my life which should not have been there, and although I had tried to conquer or get 
rid of them, I could not. A hasty temper, impatience, and love of the praise of men 
more than the praise of God were the greatest hindrances in my Christian life. <A 
great longing for something came upon me, I scarcely knew what. Sometimes I 
thought it was power with God. Sometimes it seemed to be a great joy that would attract 
others to Jesus. Sometimes I called it holiness. At any rate for months this great 
hunger was unsatisfied. At last, through one of His messengers God flashed across 
my mind the truth that it was Jesus I longed for and Jesus I needed. And then I saw 
Him as never before in all His love and beauty and holiness. I knelt down at His 
feet, gave over everything to Him—longings, difficulties and all—and threw the 
doors wide open to Him. Praise His name! He came in, and everything else went 
out. The difficulties that I had struggled with disappeared as if by magic, and every 
longing was satisfied. Oh, the wonders of His love! And it gets better all the way. 
“Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honor, and power, and might, 
be unto our God for ever and ever! Glory! Glory! Glory!” 


The fact that over three hundred of the choicest young men in our educa- 
tional institutions have consecrated their lives to the work of the ministry, 
believing that they are called by the Holy Spirit, and that even a larger number 
of the young women have pledged themselves to Christian work, is one fruit 


30 The Revival in the Indian Church 


of the revival that has given us great joy. Who can estimate what that will 
mean? And who can foretell what will be seen before the centenary celebration 
of the founding of our Mission? All I can say now is that we are planning for 
great things and are expecting great things from God. 

In giving of their substance, their time, themselves, and so on, the mem- 
bers of our Indian Church are on “higher ground.” How shall I specify? 
The whole of our ministry has another spirit. In one of our District Con- 


ferences the people were becoming very happy. A Hindustani preacher rose 
and said: 


The more blessing I receive the more unhappy I become. I shall not have my 
happiness until the Christians in the villages in my circuit receive this happiness. 
Then I shall be happy. 


I have seen many preachers in agony of spirit, desiring that their membership 
might all have the blessing of happiness. The Rev. L. A. Core, presiding elder 
of Moradabad District, reports well of the workers. He says: 


I have never seen them so interested in the spiritual welfare of their people. 
The real part of the revival abides and grows in the majority of the workers. I have 
been greatly pleased with the zeal manifested almost everywhere. 


Review and Outlook 


It will have been noticed that my story of the revival has been very largely 
confined to institutions, city churches, and district conferences. Our model in 
writing has been the “Acts of the Apostles” in which, largely without comment, 
events are recorded as they happened. The revival in the Khasia Hills first 
broke out in schools and district synods, reaching the villages months later. 
In our Mission the revival broke out with great force first in one center, then 
in another, and another, until practically all the institutions and district con- 
ferences in all this northern country, and many in the southern country, have 
been reached. Our prayer and expectation is that just as the first great out- 
break in one of our centers was a prophecy as to its reaching all of them, so 
the first great outbreak in our villages will be a prophecy that the revival will 
reach all our village Christians. As we shall tell, we have already had more 
than a “first glorious outbreak.” This is now the burden and prayer that is 
on all our hearts for 1907. “Oh, Lord, send the revival to all our village Chris- 
tians.”” When the Holy Spirit shall have come upon all the Church, we know 
the heathen will be convicted by the thousand and will come to us saying, 
“What must we do to be saved?” 


The First Village Revivals 


The Rev. P. M. Buck, of Meerut, under date of February 6, 1907, reports 
as follows concerning the first remarkable outbreak among the simple village 
people: 


We have been out for our first quarterly on the Muzaffarnager Circuit. The re- 
vival in that field is working with power. I have never held such a quarterly in my 
work. The blessings coming upon the workers exceeded anything experienced by 
them in the Summer School and District Conference. Such praying I have seldom 
heard. God is giving us the spirit of intercession. It was while Faz] Masih was 


The First Village Revivals 31 


praying that the power of God came upon the people in greatest measure. One 
brother thought at first that an earthquake was taking place. Another said it seemed 
as if a flame of fire had burst from a mountainside and had enveloped him. There were 
some shouts of “Hallelujah!” The village people present felt the Spirit’s power. 
In general they testified to three things, expressing themselves in the village lan- 
guage. The three things were light, cleansing, joy. Fazl Masih seems to know just 
what to do when holding a meeting with his people. As a weeping prophet, he is like 
Jeremiah. He weeps over his people, especially in his prayers. 


Concerning another village revival, Mr. Buck writes: 


You will be glad to hear that there is a revival in the Sikandarabad Circuit. 
The workers are being richly blessed and the village Christians are drinking at the 
fountain. The thing is started and will go. I have no shadow of doubt regarding it. 
The workers are to see that they can help their people to Christ. God’s presence is 
very sweetly manifest in the meetings. 


The Rev. L. A. Core says: 


The village people in many places are coming to see and believe that these re- 
vival blessings are for them. Hitherto they have thought that, just as book-learning 
is for the learned, so also the higher spiritual blessings are for the educated classes 
only. Now they are coming to realize that these things are for them too. I regard 
this as a great advance. When they fully realize that Jesus belongs also to them, His 
power and love, and the joy of His salvation, it will be a great step toward the en- 
joyment of them. This is to me one of the most hopeful signs of the movement. | 

The Rev. William Peters, one of our Hindustani presiding elders, in whose 
district are thirteen thousand Christians, testifies: 


After the “Dasehra Meetings” of last year the revival fire spread among our 
preachers and its effects were seen in their families and in the congregations in dis- 
tant places. But its full effects were not seen until after the District Conference in 
November. For instance, in Kakrala, where the Rey. J. Solomon works, the spiritual 
life has been sluggish for some time, and the Christians did not care for worship. But 
a change came over them. In the same way a great change came over all the Chris- 
tians at Bisauli and Bilsi. At first the preachers received the blessing and then their 
families, and afterward the revival spread among the exhorters and Christians. I am 
thankful to report that it is still spreading onward like wild fire. On account of 
this blessing, the preachers are doing their work more zealously than before. I hope 
that the revival will spread in other circuits also this year, because nearly all the 
workers have received abundant blessing. Concerning my personal experience I may 
say that I have received a greater blessing than I ever experienced before. I con- 
sider it a great privilege as well as a responsibility to help my fellow workers who 
are weak in any way. By the help of God I shall try to cause this revival to spread 
throughout my entire district. I hope that by means of the revival the non-Christians 
will also be blessed. 


The Rev. J. W. Robinson, presiding elder of Oudh District, says: 


The first two or three days of the meeting were devoted to earnest prayer that 
God Himself would take in hand these hard hearts. Then suddenly the Spirit fell 
upon the assembly in great convicting power; all complaints were forgotten, and each 
one cried to God begging forgiveness of his own sins. The spirit of witnessing came 
upon the small number of workers present, and they preached the word of truth with 
genuine power. Gradually, but not until they had experienced great agony of soul, 
these village Christians, none of whom had ever before attended anything like a re- 


32 The Revival in the Indian Church 


vival service, came out into the light, and groans of agony were changed to shouts of 
joy. ‘Then the influence spread to the heathens present, and a few of these who had 
been under previous instruction decided to become Christians and were baptized, 
while a great number of others were much moved and mentally convinced. Some of 
our Christian women went out in the mohullas and gathered together large numbers 
of the Hindu and Mohammedan women, preaching to them with such power that they 
were convicted to the heart. 

As a result of this village revival, hostility on the part of former opponents has 
almost ceased, a new spirit of inquiry has sprung up among the non-Christians, also 
in place of the former discontented and divided community, a spirit of great love and 
fellowship now exists among the people, and they are looking forward hopefully to 
still greater meetings in the near future, in which many non-Christians from among 
their neighbors shall be brought to the Christ whom they now love so much. 


Beloved, pray for your missionaries, who are in the heart of the heathen 
world, and in the thick of the fight where “a great and effectual door is opened,” 
and also where “there are many adversaries.” Pray that our eyes may ever 
be looking unto Christ, who “is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that 
we ask or think.” Amen. 


